R&D Internationalization and Green Innovation? Evidence from Chinese Resource Enterprises and Environmental Enterprises

Abstract

Although the importance of external involvement has been recognized in product and technology innovation, whether research and development (R&D) internationalization stimulates green innovation and under what conditions it is more effective is still unclear. To address this research gap, this study uses knowledge-based theory to explore the effect of R&D internationalization on green innovation and the moderating roles of state ownership and international experience. We examine the research hypotheses using panel data of 19,273 Chinese resource enterprises (REs) and environmental enterprises (EEs) spanning three years. The results indicate that R&D internationalization has a negative effect on green innovation in REs and EEs. Additionally, we identified a negative moderating effect of state ownership and a positive moderating effect of internationalization experience on the relationship between R&D internationalization and green innovation, which suggests that the effect is contingent on the corporation’s ownership and capability in dealing with the complexities and uncertainties inherent in international business.